Tom Jones (1963)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Tony Richardson

Writers:

John Osborne (screenplay)
Henry Fielding (novel)

Release Date:

11 December 1963 (France)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Tom Jones! . . . loves and loves and loves and loves . . . [UK]

Plot:

Tom Jones, the adopted son of a British country squire, is a love-'em-and-leave-'em lady charmer who goes blithely from bed to bed, while managing to get into enough other mischief to come within moments of being hanged.

Plot Keywords:

Squire | Tutor | Sex | Love | Masked Ball

Awards:

Won 4 Oscars. Another 17 wins & 17 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sat. Nov. 21

8:00 PM

TCM

Cast

Albert Finney	...	Tom Jones
Susannah York	...	Sophie Western
Hugh Griffith	...	Squire Western
Edith Evans	...	Miss Western
Joan Greenwood	...	Lady Bellaston
Diane Cilento	...	Molly Seagrim
George Devine	...	Squire Allworthy
David Tomlinson	...	Lord Fellamar
Rosalind Atkinson	...	Mrs. Miller
George A. Cooper	...	Mr. Fitzpatrick
Angela Baddeley	...	Mrs. Wilkins
Mark Dignam	...	Lieutenant
Avis Bunnage	...	Landlady, George Inn
Julian Glover	...	Northernton
Peter Bull	...	Thwackum

Also Known As:

Tom Jones! (UK) (poster title)

Runtime:

128 min | USA:121 min (director's cut)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) | Dolby (restored version)

Certification:

UK:PG (video rating) (cut) | UK:AA (1970 rating) | Iceland:L | USA:TV-14 (cable rating) | Sweden:11 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | USA:Unrated | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Bridgwater, Somerset, England, UK

Company:

Woodfall Film Productions

Trivia:

Lynn Redgrave's film debut.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the scene where Tom Jones and Sophie Western are riding around on various horses within a barnyard area, one of the barn sheds in the background has an area of its roof repaired with corrugated iron. The story was set in the mid-1700s but corrugated iron wasn't invented until the 1820s.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: In the west of England there was once a Squire Allworthy. After several months in London he returns home.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Le cinéma passe à table (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

If He Swings by the Strings

Magnificent movie with four deserved Academy Award winner

Tom Jones(Albert Finney) is a 18th century orphan who is adopted by an aristocrat but he lives his own life with mirth and freedom. The philander English lad has good heart and affinity for troubles and an eye for the ladies confronting amorous and bawdy adventures. His true love is Sophie(Susannah York) the daughter of a high-class rich owner(Hugh Griffith).

The picture is a lavish rendition of a classic novel by Henry Fielding with lots of entertainment and fun and it's plenty of satire,irony,comedy,tongue and cheek and amusement. Lively and jolly soundtrack by John Addison , author of numerous classics scores of the English Free Cinema. Film is very well directed by Tony Richardson who in 1977 made an attempt to return with similar character -Joseph Andrews- but the freshness,inspiration and magic had gone. It is followed by a sequel -The bawdy adventures of Tom Jones- an exploitive extension directed by Cliff Owen and with Arthur Lowe,Joan Collins and Trevor Howard. Tom Jones picture was undoubtedly the biggest year.The film obtained Academy Award in 1963 to the best film for United Artists, Director-Tony Richardson-, adapted screenplay-John Osborne- and original music-John Addison- and were nominated Albert Finney,Hugh Griffith,Diane Cilento,Joyce Redman and Edith Evans by their robustly agreeable characterization.Well worth watching.